In what seems to be a long time coming, Blizzard is finally closing down both of its in-game auction houses in Diablo III. While it isn’t a huge shock that the real world cash house where people could literally pay their way to get a better character is closing, it is a little bit surprising that they are also taking down the in-game gold auction house as well.

While the real cash auction house was essentially power leveling on steroids, the gold auction house should have theoretically worked in line with the game’s economy but it is likely there was some level of either drastic inflation or deflation on value of the game’s currency at hand to make Blizzard come to such a drastic decision.

In an email that went out at the end of day yesterday, Blizzard addressed the closure to Diablo III players:

When we initially designed and implemented the auction house system, the driving goal was to provide a convenient and secure system for trades. But after much review and player feedback, it became increasingly clear that despite the benefits of the AH system and the fact that many players around the world use it, it ultimately undermines Diablo’s core game play: kill monsters to get cool loot.

Though the final shutdown will take place six months from now on March 18th, 2014, Blizzard is alerting players immediately about the decision. it is likely that players will either try and milk it for all its worth until the closure or completely abandon the system well before the end. To keep up to date on the closure, Blizzard suggests following their official blog thread here.

Make sure to weigh in in the comments below about your thoughts on the Diablo III auction house and its impending closure.